


Boundaries

by priceofsalt



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, F/F, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2014-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-03 11:14:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2848853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/priceofsalt/pseuds/priceofsalt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This work is set after the Season 1 finale and features jealous!Danny struggling to cope with Laura and Carmilla's relationship. Includes discussions of predatory behavior and a darker take on Danny's protective streak.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Boundaries

The first time Danny sees them together outside of the confines of their room she is at a cafe near campus. She is waiting in line at the counter with a stack of ungraded papers when she spots them, squeezed together in a booth on the same side of the table. Carmilla is reading a tattered paperback. Laura has a textbook laid out on the table in front of her. Her brow is furrowed in concentration in a way that Danny still finds painfully adorable. She holds a highlighter delicately between the fingers of her right hand. Her left hand is out of sight and something about her proximity to Carmilla makes Danny want to investigate. She pretends to be taking a closer look at a pastry near the bottom shelf as she kneels down to look under the table. Laura's hand is resting on Carmilla's thigh--just resting. There is nothing outlandish about this gesture but the intimacy of it--the suggestion that Laura is comfortable with her hand below Carmilla's belt--has Danny out the door of the cafe before she can stop herself.

She doesn't want to be angry. When she's angry she does petty things like throw perfectly good tomatoes at the girl she loves when said girl is busy being perfectly earnest and heroic. She doesn't want to lash out again. She doesn't want to be forced to ask any more questions about just how selfishly she loves.

She's taken to trying to convince herself that Laura was nothing more than a freshman with silly crush on her TA. There was never room for something more between them because of Laura's immaturity. There was never something more between them that Danny drained dry. A venn diagram comparing Danny's behavior and that of a designated Zeta Omega Mu safety companion could never be mistaken for a simple circle.

When lying to herself fails to take the edge off, Danny relies on facts.

Fact: the two months she spent courting Laura were a mistake. She allowed herself to get involved with a student against both her better judgement and the university's code of conduct. She is lucky to still have a job and luckier still that Laura didn't turn around and accuse her of sexual harrassment. Danny has never felt more vulnerable than when she went to Laura's room thinking that she wanted to get back together only to find that Laura was willing to use Danny's feelings to try to get a stupid extension. She walked home stricken with terror. Maybe Laura was also willing to save her grade by accusing Danny of taking advantage of her. Maybe Danny had spent the entire walk to Laura's dorm psyching herself up to push the smaller girl down on her bed. Maybe she would have tried to anyway if Carmilla hadn't been there to witness the entire conversation. Danny never wants to feel that ignoble again.

Fact: the protective feelings Danny had for Laura were a complete waste. Laura treated Danny's concern like an offense and brushed aside her attempts to keep her safe only to swoon over a predator (a real honest to god predator) whose crowning heroic achievements included not draining her dry (yet). So what if Carmilla sacrificed her life? They all did. It infuriates Danny to think about the way that everyone fought side by side only to have the group effort overshadowed by Carmilla's big dramatic gesture. Danny loyally carried Carmilla's body back to Laura's room only to be dismissed like a dog who'd brought in the morning paper. Danny never wants to feel that expendable again.

While scrambling away from the cafe with the still ungraded papers clenched in her fist Danny is struck by a sudden and overwhelming need to save face. She needs to prove to herself that she is brave enough to see Laura with _her_ , that she never conflated possession with love, that walking up to a line is not the same as crossing it, that she is capable of brushing aside Laura's interest in Carmilla as effectively as Laura brushed away her own interest. She needs to get back to looking at herself as an honorable person and find a way to look at the bandaids on Laura's neck without feeling a twinge of obligation. She needs to grade this stack of papers and save herself so she can get on with saving someone else.

Armed with a red pen, a mocha, and a scone Danny sits far enough away that her presence will hopefully go unnoticed. Seated around the corner of the counter, Danny can see them through the glass of the pastry case and is counting on them being too caught up in their reading and in each other to spot her. The only confrontation she is looking for is internal.

The test comes early. The hand that before laid still in Carmilla's lap moves as Laura flexes her fingers along Carmilla's thigh. Carmilla pretends not to notice and Danny follows suit. Carmilla continues to read and Danny turns her attention back to leaving angry red marks on the page in front of her. She is determined to maintain her focus at least as long as Carmilla does.

When she looks up again, she's sure that at least a minute has passed but is unsure what she is seeing. Carmilla has brushed aside Laura's hair and her lips are on her neck. Before she can stop herself, Danny has pushed her chair back with enough force that it shrieks against the cement floor.

For a terrible moment, she's sure she's given herself away but when she looks again Carmilla is pressing a soft kiss to Laura's neck. Laura's eyes are closed. When she opens them, it is to look at Carmilla, who closes Laura's textbook with a deft sweep of her hand. They gather their books and bags to leave. Danny continues to grade. She doesn't let Laura leave. She just does.


End file.
